Digital Governance and Censorship in India
India's approach to digital governance has seen significant developments over the past decade, particularly in relation to the blocking of social media accounts.
Recent Censorship Trends
- Increased censorship of social media accounts, especially those criticising the Union government and Prime Minister over policies in West Asia and the LPG crisis.
- From 2014 to 2021, blocked URLs, posts, and accounts rose from 470 to 9,800.
- Entire accounts publishing politically unfavourable content are being blocked, an example seen during the farmers' protest in 2020-21.
- Emergency powers were used in 2023 to block a BBC documentary, expanding the definition of "threat to public order".
- The Karnataka High Court ruling against Twitter's challenge of blocking orders has emboldened further censorship.
Legal and Procedural Concerns
- Section 69A of the IT Act 2000 is upheld due to its procedural safeguards requiring reasoned orders and judicial review.
- The government has diluted these safeguards by expansive use of Rule 16 of the 2009 Blocking Rules, maintaining confidentiality of proceedings.
- This confidentiality undermines the ability to challenge blocking orders in court.
- Blocking orders reviewed by an entirely executive body under IT Rules 2009, which has not overturned any orders.
Implications on Free Speech
- The practice of blocking entire accounts results in a form of digital exile.
- This approach aligns more with authoritarian governance than liberal democracy.
- Decentralizing blocking powers to multiple Ministries could lead to arbitrary censorship without specialized oversight, further threatening free speech.
